THEME: GRIT AND COURAGE
From Scripture
‘So do not fear for I am with you . I will strengthen and help you by supporting you with my right hand.’ – Isaiah 41 v 10
“ Wait on the Lord: be of good courage and he will strengthen you ‘ – Psalm 27:14
‘ The one who endures to the end will be saved .’ – Matthew 24:13
A Prayer
Dear Lord, please help us to display the character trait of GRIT in all that we do at College this year to enable us to be the best version of ourselves.
This we ask in your name and pray for your blessing.
Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:
“ Grit is about doing the hard work day in and day out , without immediate reward , “ – Silk & Sonder
Let’ s consider what GRIT actually means.
According to Duckworth, “Passion and resilience are the secrets to success. To grow ‘grit’ one needs in its simplest form; interest [which is to foster and then follow passion]; practice [make it a habit; daily rituals; hours and hours of practice – Gladwell’s 10 000 to master a skill]; purpose [Why? What is your goal? What are you wanting to achieve?] and hope [grit rests on the expectation that your own efforts can improve – I have a feeling that tomorrow will be better; learned optimism].
When speaking to our top performing academics, almost to a man, they say that there is no short cut to success. You may be blessed with a very high IQ , but that does not necessarily translate to excellent academic results.
What is the pre-requisite?
Following on from Duckworth ‘passion and resilience ‘ – you need self-discipline, dedication, perseverance and commitment to achieve your goals.
We had a guest speaker address four years ago at Prize Giving, who, at the age of 21, was the youngest secretary of MENSA. He has a brilliant mind, and extremely high IQ , and was an incredible entrepreneur, BUT he never ever passed Maths1 at university. Why? Not because he couldn’t cope with it, BUT because his interest, passion and commitment lay in computers, computer programming etc. He was eventually awarded an honorary degree for what he achieved in computers and business as he was a self-made millionaire in his mid 20s . There will be many similar stories similar in sport of sportsmen who had significant talent and potential, but did not display the characteristics of passion, interest , determination to achieve their potential and ultimate success .
Let us now focus on College and our particular circumstances:
A number of you have displayed tremendous GRIT over the past week – I think of the 2nd Form Borvers going through their Borver Week programme which included a gruelling introduction to their ‘Good Man Journey ‘ at Tala Game Reserve – the unique College rite of passage ritual of physical endurance, which every boy managed to achieve. They are entitled to wear their 2nd Form tie with pride. Today along with the rest of the forms, they embark on the Inter-house Virtus Challenge which also includes a number of endurance activities, as team of united brothers, as part of your collective community on your ‘Good Man Journey “.
It is essential that the 6th Form as leaders, MUST Lead the rest of the House and serve as examples of all that has already been mentioned. All we ask is that you give your best and nothing less as the inter-house competition begins in earnest to see who will be the champion house of 2024. This is followed on Friday with our inter-house annual championships.
Today we will acknowledge our best academic performing boys who have been ranked in the Top 10 of each form . We will also mention the top performing NSC boys from the Class of 2023 who will be formally acknowledged at a special dedication assembly on Friday. They all have indeed shown GRIT as well as a number of the others character traits mentioned.
Therefore, taking on the mantra of HOPE and GRIT. For those things that you wanted to achieve but did not in 2023 – it is too late. Forget about them!
The good news is that you have the chance to start all over again. However, now, at the start of 2024, this is a new chapter – anything is possible and nothing can stop you if you apply your mind and have a ‘ can do ‘ and positive GRIT attitude. If you believe you can you will! If you think you cannot, you will not! It is a simple as that. We, the staff ( teachers, mentors, coaches, and support staff) ALL want you to reach your goals and be at your best. Your parents also want the same. Don’t wait to seek help, but ask so that we can help you along the journey. It is in your hands. Just do it!
For those of you possibly feeling disheartened by the year’s work ahead, there is some encouraging news. It is now thought that only a third of the difference between grades can be attributed to IQ. Once you are in the workforce, IQ will account for only 25% of the difference between your job performance and that of others. So the intelligence you were born with is important, but there are other key factors that will help you succeed no matter what your IQ. The essential ingredient are determination and grit.
Mozart worked for months perfecting a symphony and a poet often can write as many as 70 drafts before deciding that one poem is good enough. Malcolm Gladwell researched that it takes 10 000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a skill. Research study has indicated that students who are praised for their intelligence give up quickly when they experience failure, while students praised for their effort keep on trying to succeed even when they find it hard. The winning difference appears to be a mixture of GRIT, determination ,and hope – a will to succeed.
ACADEMICS
NSC 2023 RESULTS
99.2% pass rate
96.7% achieved entry into a tertiary institution
46 boys with three distinction or more
We are very proud to announce that our DUX from 2023 Pillay was placed 3rd in the district with 7 distinctions and 96% for AP IEB Maths, and Madlala, Van Rooyen and Wiggill all achieving 7 distinctions. We will have a special academic assembly on Friday where we congratulate all our top achievers.
TOP 10 IN FORM
Congratulations to those boys who have all excelled at the end of 2023 being placed in the Top 10 in their form. Full details are here.
SPORT
In the first instance I want to congratulate the 977 boys out of 1270 who have already registered for sport . This the most number ever and the most in any school in South Africa FACT! Well done! Please ensure that you stay committed right through until the end of the year.
SPORT VS WESTVILLE
Congratulations to the 20 basketball teams, 11 cricket teams and 9 water polo teams who participated against Westville at the weekend as well as all the coaches and managers. Also thank you to all the boys who came out to support these teams on Saturday in the immense heat. It is sincerely appreciated and well done. True College spirit and commitment.
Full results are here.
BE CLOSED WEEKEND
A very big thank you to Messrs Emerson, Housemasters and staff plus prefects and 6th formers for their efforts, in making the closed weekend such an enjoyable one.
I wish you all a very good week.
Pro Aris et Focis
Dr C J Luman
Headmaster